'EWA BEACH — In a Campbell High School football season that has stumbled out of the gates through various obstacles, sophomore running back Samson Anguay has shot past the pitfalls almost unscathed.

A lot of that is thanks to his blinding speed, which conservatively has been timed at 4.5 or 4.6 seconds over 40 yards. Carrying the ball in game action, the 5-foot-7, 135-pound Anguay appears to run closer to a 4.3 or 4.4.

"It looks like he's running for his life," Sabers coach Tumoana Kenessey said. "(In a 90-yard run) against Kamehameha, he came around the edge and it looked like the defense had a good pursuit angle on him. But he got past them anyway, and it looked as if he was pulling away from them all the way down the field. He has gifts."

Those gifts were relatively unknown to 'Aiea before the O'ahu Interscholastic Association opener on Aug. 25, when Anguay blitzed Na Ali'i for 222 yards rushing on just 12 carries and added a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown for good measure.

He scored on TD runs of 69, 21 and 39 yards.

"We didn't know anything about him, so we were shocked," Na Ali'i coach Wendell Say said. "He's not (physically) imposing, but speed is what makes him go. He can run right through the hole and get in the open really fast."

'Aiea lost a chance to scout Anguay when Campbell's nonleague opener against Roosevelt was canceled due to inoperable stadium lights. But Na Ali'i didn't even notice him much playing JV ball last year, when Anguay was hidden among other backs and an inconsistent offensive line.

"We knew he could run, but at the JV level if you don't get the blocking, it's a little harder," Kenessey said. "In the spring, we asked him if he wanted to come up to the varsity, and he trained so hard, he didn't miss a day of conditioning. He was religious about his workouts, and now it shows."

In two games, Anguay has 324 yards and four touchdowns rushing on 16 carries (20.3 ypc), a 70-yard TD reception and the 50-yard punt return for a score.

His quick bursts upfield fit perfectly into the Sabers' "Wing-T" offense, which often uses misdirection and double-handoffs to keep the defense off-balanced. Sometimes, even a half-second hesitation or a step to the wrong side by defenders can give Anguay the opening he needs to shoot through into the secondary.

"As long as the O-line makes their blocks, I just have to keep up and do my part in it," he said. "We need a fast O-line to make their block, and as long as the line gives me time, I just have to read the blocks and make my move, try to make something happen."

Kenessey said Anguay is quick to see those openings and wastes no time getting there.

"The thing he has is great vision, it's unreal," Kenessey said. "If you understand our offense — or any offense — the biggest yardage usually comes from the cutbacks. He sees where the opening is, makes his cut, and then he's gone."

Kenessey said Anguay has been a pleasant surprise in a season that has so far included several unpleasant ones.

"We saw his potential, but we didn't know he would make this big an impact right away," Kenessey said. "He's a bright spot."

Bright spots unfortunately have been overshadowed so far this season for Campbell, which is 0-2-1 entering tomorrow's 1:30 p.m. home game against Kapolei. Copper thieves caused the inoperable lights (still not fixed) and cancellation of the Roosevelt game, and the 'Aiea game was called with 57 seconds still on the clock and the Sabers down 33-26 after a fight broke out on the field.

Since most, if not all of the players on the Campbell sideline rushed the field, they were all ejected and the Sabers were forced to forfeit their next league game against Wai'anae.

But Anguay said through it all, the team has remained positive.

"When we get problems, it just makes us more hungry to play," he said. "Our team is one family, and we're going to stay in it together."

Read Wes Nakama's blog on prep sports at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.